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Game Nos. 6-8
San Francisco Dons (0-5) at Tulane Green Wave (3-1)
Date: Feb. 20, 4:30 p.m.; Feb. 21, 2 p.m.; Feb. 22, 11 a.m.
Location: Greer Field at Turchin Stadium (New Orleans, La.)
Last meeting: W 9-0 (Mar. 9, 2014)
Live Stream: VIDEO
 
SAN FRANCISCO—The Dons offense was on display during the first week of the season but that was not the case for the pitching staff and they will look to rebound this weekend when they take on Tulane.
 
The first game is set for Friday at 4:30 p.m. PT and will be the fifth of 12 straight games away from home to begin the season.
 
MIROGLIO DOES IT ALL
Catcher Dominic Miroglio, a transfer from UCLA, has been everything the Dons could have hoped for early on. After the first week of games, he is hitting .500 with a team-high six RBI and has thrown out two would-be base stealers. He has started three of the first five games behind the plate.
 
ATKINSON, HENDRIKS LEAD THE WAY
The two seniors have picked up right where they left off the in the 2014 season. Atkinson has a team-high five doubles and is hitting a scalding .421 through five games. Hendriks has been Mr. Consistent early on as he has had at least two hits in four of the first five games and, dating back to last season, has multi-hit games in six of his last seven games.
 
HENDRIKS NAMED TOP 100 SENIOR
After a season where he was second on the team in slugging at .493, Brendan Hendriks has been named to Baseball America's Top 100 Seniors list and came in at 91. The senior from Alberta, Canada hit a career-high six home runs with 39 RBI in 2014, including a game-winner in the 19th inning at No. 2 Cal State Fullerton and a two-home run game against California.
 
SIDWELL RETURNS TO NOLA
University of San Francisco Director of Athletics Scott Sidwell, who is in his fourth year at the helm, has a strong connection to New Orleans as he played baseball for Tulane from 1993-94 and is an alumnus of the university.  He hit .292 with 17 home runs and 80 RBI in his two seasons for Tulane and helped them reach their first NCAA Regional. Following his graduation, he was part of the Green Wave coaching staff for two seasons. He will be in attendance for the series.
 
ATKINSON NAMED TO ALL-WCC PRESEASON TEAM
Derek Atkinson was one of the team's more consistent hitters last season and his .330 average and 44 RBI earned him a spot on last year's All-West Coast Conference Team. That performance also has him on the All-WCC Preseason Team. He is one of only two seniors on the team.
 
NOW BATTING FOR THE DONS, MANNY RAMIREZ… JR.
It is the first season for Manny Ramirez, Jr. on the Hilltop after transferring from Central Arizona College. The son of the former MLB star Manny Ramirez, Manny Jr. had an impressive fall season and is slotted to be the starting designated hitter for USF. In about 100 at bats last season, he had an on-base percentage of .397 with three home runs and 18 RBI.
 
GIARRATANO MOVING UP THE CHARTS
Head coach Nino Giarratano enters his 17th season at USF and has accumulated 457 wins over that time, which is the most in school history and is the third most in West Coast Conference history. He sits behind only John Cunningham (524, San Diego) and current San Diego and former USF coach Rich Hill (691).
 
TOUGH NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
The Dons may have one of the tougher non-conference schedules in the country. They play eight games against teams that are ranked in the top 35 in the country (Texas Tech, Oregon, Stanford), according to the NCBWA, and an additional five games against teams receiving votes. All the games against ranked teams will also be on the road.
 
#DonsOTR
San Francisco has a grueling schedule that will have the team away from home for 36 of the team's 55 games, including a stretch of 12 straight and 20 of 24 to start the season. It will include trips to Texas Tech, New Mexico, Oregon, and Gonzaga.
 
CHRISTIAN ON THE MOUND
Senior Christian Cecilio enters his fourth season on the Hilltop and is close to entering the upper echelon in a number of statistical categories. Cecilio comes in with 43 career starts (3rd all-time), 222.2 innings (15th), and 164 srikeouts (13th). With seven more starts, he will become the school's all-time leader in the category, passing Matt Lujan (49, 2008-11).
 
DONS PICKED EIGHTH IN WCC
The Dons finished last season 11-16 and in eighth place in the West Coast Conference and that is where they have been predicted to finish in 2015. Loyola Marymount has been picked to win the conference and garnered six first place votes. Pepperdine, who won the conference a year ago, has been picked second with three first place votes. San Diego received the last first place vote.